Repairs suggested to my son’s Prius

Saving gas costs a lot of money. Get your son to diy it in his 3 car garage home

 

That's all really easy stuff if that can't be managed by the kid. Then I guess somebody has to pay but that's really easy stuff that somebody that doesn't shine a seat all day should be able to pretty much grasp but there are many who can't that's not for my determination. But you have a gen 3 here so there are a lot of things coming down the pipeline probably relatively quickly The timing cover is one of the least things I would worry with and one of the most misdiagnosed it's actually probably the oil switch that's leaking making it look like the timing covers leaking and thereby gaining you a higher quote look carefully there are pictures here and all over the internet for all of these things they've listed even the timing cover gasket set which I would not be in any hurry to do brakes slap on new rotors and new pads Don't worry with resurfacing they're too cheap now or inexpensive. Upper and lower radiator hoses I don't know what state or where this vehicle is located My 2013 has the original upper and lower hoses and they still look brand new no swelling no anything. So unless they look really bad I'd leave them for a while issues with head gaskets electric water pumps and the ABS pump and accumulator are the big repairs on this model and could cost $8,000 plus if you allowed them to All of them could be done for well a whole lot less. I've just got through doing most of them on the same kind of Gen 3 car Good luck.

 

What year is the Prius?

 

what year is it?

1) run from the dealer as fast as possible!

2) once you've determined the maintenance history, or can't find it, complete all the 150k maintenance in the maintenance schedule that came with the car.

3) add an egr circuit cleaning as well as tranny fluid change

4) maintenance schedule and history are available at toyota.com/owners

5) ignore the timing chain gasket leak unless oil is puddling on the ground overnight

6) all the best to your son!

 

Sway bars leaking? Huh? Maybe that's supposed to be struts.

No egr clean or brake fluid flush?

Go to an independent repair shop and get another estimate. Don't show them this one.

Radiator hoses for that much? No. Probably not needed anyway. If the cooling and inverter system Coolant weren't changed before, you need that.

Fuel system service? Skip that unless it's not running right. Put a bottle of Techron in the gas tank.

 

Yeah, I love this one. Pretty much the same thing the dealer does. A $10 bottle of fuel treatment and hand you a bill for $250

The only one I see in there that's reasonable is the oil change.
And of course, I'm also trying to think of a time I've ever seen a sway bar "leak", lol. I've never specifically examined a prius sway bar, assuming it has a true sway bar, but all the ones I've seen are a steel bar and some bushings. Maybe he's talking about stabilizer bars, I think they have greased joints with the rubber boots?

 

Regarding the timing chain cover leakage: see for yourself how advanced it is: raise the front/right corner, remove that wheel, pop out the accessible fasteners on the wheel well liner, enough that you can flex it out of the way. You'll then be looking at the end of the cranshaft and (beltless) pulley. See if it's leaking, and how much. If warranted, the average dealership price for that, reported here, is around $1700 USD.

I'd second the EGR circuit cleaning. It's overdue, and neglecting it can lead to blown head gasket. See first couple of links in my signature.

The transaxle fluid change is a good idea. A fair price for that is around $100 USD. $125 at most. Use ONLY Toyota ATF WS fluid. There's a link in my signature with info, if you're considering to DIY.

The coolant hoses should be just fine.

Replacement of brake pads may be warranted, but check pad thickness for yourself, just pull a wheel and eyeball. Rotors more'n likely are fine, unless you're in the salt belt and they're really bad. Toyota does recommend a tri-yearly or 30K miles in-depth inspection, where you inspect/clean/lube everything.

Alignment is just a waste of money, unless you're noticing something untoward, say pull to side, or uneven tire wear.

 

Largely fraudulent.

The fictitious leaking "sway bar" reminds me of the time the local dealer service department handed me an (unrequested) elaborate inspection report, on which the most egregiously fraudulent recommended repair was replacement of my (non-existent) accessory drive belt, complete with photograph of a frayed belt.

 

If you don't fix that sway bar link you'll spray oil all over the road! And cause a huge
30 car pile up behind you!!

 

How do people who work at these Toyota Stealerships live with themselves with this much dishonesty? Perhaps when you specialize in working on brand new cars, the old cars are the kind of customers you want to scare away or steal from, but never actually help?

 

Same as the politicians in office that pass bills to improve the .1 percenters in the nation and bring them to the forefront gaslighting statements one after the other.

 

Did you report the bad guys?

 

Wow, radiator hoses replace every 6 years??? Is that a joke? I did a real LOL at that one! The OEM hoses on my son's 2008 Corolla are just fine...hoses are on the list of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" (They are easy to inspect.)
If maintenance records are not available, I agree with the advise to replace all fluids....oil, radiator, transmission, brakes. These cars have an electric power steering system so no fluid to worry about. The $184 transmission service is actually a pretty good price...my dealership charges $315.

 

Ugh, the prius transaxle fluid change is no harder than an oil change. Especially for dealership with a lift. The fluid's gone up a bit, now around $11~12 CDN per liter for me (4 required). Retail cost outlay with the two washers around $50 CDN, say $40 USD. The labour about 1/2 hour.

It should not be costing more than $100 USD. It cost more cus customers are complacent. Best approach in this climate: get the stuff and DIY. Simpler than dickering with those crooks.

 

Yeah, my son-in-law got a used 08 Suzuki Sx4 a few years ago and it had no maintenance records so I looked it over for him....needed just about everything. I worked on it for a week and replaced all fluids and filters and the brakes were shot so ended up replacing all rotors and pads....I only asked him to repay me for part costs. His Dad, a retired doctor who always takes his cars to the dealership, heard about it and told him I probably saved him over $1,000 by doing it. (I didn't argue but suspect it would've been closer to $2,000 these days!)